Apparatus for treating leather or other goods



w. 1. WALKER. APPARATUS FOR TREATING LEATHER 0R AOTHER GOODS.

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'APPARATusfoR 135mm; LEATHER on omis cocos.' APPLICATION FILEP DEG1 15.1919.v

.1,3611573.- Patented-Jan. 11,1921,

NVENTUR www vw. 1.' WALKER. APPARATUS FOR TREATING LEATHER OR OTHER GOODS?! APFLICAHON FILED DEC. i5, 19|9. 14,365,573. Patented Jan. 11, 11921,

BSHEETS-SHEEI 3.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING LEATHER OR OTHER-GOODS.

Specification of Letters Patent. n PatentedJan. 11, 1921.

Application filed December 15, 1919. Serial No. 345,060.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, WILLIAM JOHN lWALKER, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of lVarrington, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for rIreating Leather or other Goods, of which the l'ol lowing is a specification.

rlhis invention relates to apparatus for use in the manufacture or treatment of leather or other goods and refers more par ticularly to such apparatus wherein the goods are suspended and moved about in a vat containing the treating liquor, mechanical means being provided to agitate the liquor. The object of the present invention is to provide improved and simplified means for agitating the' liquor.

According to this invention, the device comprises an agitator for the liquor consisting of a valve frame itted with a series of flap or non-returnv valves, the frame being caused to reciprocate vertically in the liquor and also to agitate it. A series of such frames may be provided, and arranged in two sets, one set being arranged to rise whilethe other set falls, this action being obtained by suspending the frames by means of ropes, belts, or the like flexible elements passing over pulleys and connected to a sliding'board, rod, or rods which are reciprocated, say from a shaft. The apparatus is particularly applicable to the manufacture of leather and a type of valve agitator as described may beused in combination with a frame from which the hides are suspended, the frame and the hides rising and falling in the vat the base of which frame is arranged as a valve agitator, or the hides may be suspended in any suitable manner within the vat andlixed, the agitator then being a separate element and vertically reciprocated to agitato the vat liquor. The

hinged valves maybe resiliently controlledso as to insure a more rapid action in closing.

The invention is illustrated, as applied to the manufacture ofleather, in the accompanying drawings, in which Figure l is a plan view of an agitator or valve frame constructed. principally of timber. Fig. 2 is a section on the line A-A of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view analogous to Fig. l, of a concrete type of valve frame, Fig. 4 being a. section on the line B-B, Fi 3, and Fig. 5, a section on the line C--C ig. 3. Fig. 6

is an elevation, and Fig. 7, a plan view, showing a frame for supporting the hides combined with an agitator of the type shown in Figs. 1 or 3. Fig. 8 is an elevation showing a series of agitators with their driving gear, and Fig. 9 is a plan of Fig- 8.

In carrying out the invention, as applied to the manufacture of leather with which the invention is principally concerned, the liquor in the vats is agitated by means oi a valve frame l which in Figs. l and 2 is constructed of wood. This valve frame is titted with a series of cavities 2 controlled `by means of valves 3 which may take the form of boards hinged at 5, or direct lifting valves 6 which are free to rise on the studs 7 4carried from transverse bars 8, the valves 4 and 6 as the frame l is caused to fall opening upward on the downward movement of theirame and permitting the liquor to pass therethrough. On the subsequent risin movement of the frame the valves close an a partial vacuum being set up beneath the valve frame the liquor as it is lifted is caused to llow around the exterior of the frame downward into the vat, the valve frames occupying a considerable area ofthe vat. In order to insure that the valve frame shall fall in the liquor it may beweighted as required. The valve frames may have slightly upstanding walls so asto form a cavity above, if so desired, and are fitted with any suitable means such as the ring bolt 9 for raisingand lowering them in the liquor. In the arrangement 'shown in Figs. 3 to 5 the frame la is made 'of concrete to assist the sinking action of the valve frame, the valves 4 in this case being hinged'back to back and the hinge taking the form of rubber platesv 10 carried beneathf'thetransverse bars ll. Apertures 2 are also in this case castin the concrete frame la, and the ring bolt 9 again provided for manipulating the valve frame. The concrete frames may be reinforced by ,H-girders 12, as shown in Fig. 4, to n strengthen them and increase their weight so that they may sink the more eiectually in the vat liquor.

Such a valve frame may be used to cause the agitation of the liquor in any existing type of vat, and thehides may then be suspended in the vats in any suitable and known manner. A `valve frame as described, however, may be used in combination with a supporting frame for the hides, the hides in that case, as well as the valve agitator,

rising and falling in the liquor. This arrangement is illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 where the hides 13 are supported from rods 14 carried on an upper framework 15 distanced by corner posts 16 from a base 1, which may be a valve agitator of the form shown in Figs. 1 or 3. The whole combined hide supporting framework and valve agitator are moved up and down in the vat liquor from the ring 9 and chains 17 connected to eye bolts 1S at the corners of the upper frame 15. The rods 14 from. which the hides are suspended may be anchored down at their ends by retaining bars 19 to prevent them lifting when being submerged in the vat liquor, or the hides and skins may be supported in any other suitable manner.

Where valve agitators only are used for circulating the vat liquor, the hides being fixed, or where the valve agitators are used in combination with hide supporting frames, the agitators are preferably arranged in series alternately rising and falling. The means for effecting such a movement is illustrated in Figs. 8 and 9, where the valve agitators are arranged in two series 1a, 1b, within the vats 20, the series-of vat frames 1aL rising, while the series 1b fall, and viceversa. This is effected by suspending the frames by means of ropes or the like flexible elements 21a, 21", passing over pulleys 21 and connected at 22 to a sliding rod or rods 23 which is or are reciprocated from a shaft 24 carrying an eccentric 25 or the like coupled by a connecting rod 26 to the sliding rod or rods 23, so that rotary movement of the shaft 24 sets up a reciprocatory move# ment of the sliding rods and alternating rising and falling movement of the frames. By arranging the frames in the manner shown the weight of the descending frames assists the action of the rising frames, and the total power required to drive the system is thus reduced to a minimum.

The apparatus may be used for the various treatment of hides and skins such as soaking, liming, de-liming and tanning and when applied to processes other than the manufacture of leather as for instance the treatment or dyeing of textiles, the material would be carried from the frames in the same way as that described above.

I claim. i

1. An agitating mechanism for soaking or similarly treating hides, skins, leather or other goods, comprising, a vat for the liquor, a frame reciprocated vertically in the liquor and extending over a considerable area of the vat, said frame being adapted to bodily rise and fall, a series of non-return valves in said frame, said valves being adapted to open on the downward movement of the frame and close on the return movement, and means for vertically reciprocating the frame. p

2. An agitating mechanism for soaking or similarly treating hides, skins, leather, or other goods, comprising, vats for the liquor, a series of frames reciprocated vertically in the liquor, each frame extending over a considerable area of its vat, said frames each having a series of large apertures, a series of non-return valves controlling said apertures, said valves being adapted to open on the downward movement of the frames and close on the return movement, the series of frames being supported by flexible elements passing over pulleys and being arranged in two sets, the one set descending as the other set rises so that the weight of the descending frames assiststhe action of the rising frames, and means for vertically reciprocating the frames.

3. Mechanism of the class described comprising, 'in combination, vats, a series of valved frames arranged in sets within the i vats for agitatlng the contents thereof, and

means for vertically reciprocating said frames including connections between the frames and said reciprocating means to cause the frames of each set to alternately rise and fall.

ln testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

VILLIAM JOHN WALKER. 

